Page 33 of Return to Clan Sinclair
Carlton looked up as well, then evidently reassured by Ceana’s presence, went back to his reading.
He was guarding her.
She was going to have to talk to Macrath, and Bruce, for that matter. This couldn’t continue. She had to feel safe in her own home. Even more importantly, her children did not have to guard her.
“Come in,” she said to Ceana before turning to Carlton. “Go and tell Brianag we need tea and biscuits.” Her son’s eyes lit up. Carlton had a well-developed love of Brianag’s honey biscuits. She held up one finger. “No more than two, Carlton.”
He reluctantly nodded, but escaped from the room.
“You’ve rescued me from my knight,” she said, closing the door and turning to Ceana. “For some reason, Carlton has decided to protect me.”
Ceana looked away.
“You know about Henderson,” Virginia said, returning to her chair.
“I do,” Ceana confessed. “I think it’s horrible. I didn’t know anything about what he’d done. Nor can I remember him from London.”
“I wish I could forget him,” Virginia said. “He seems to have formed some type of fixation on me. Come and sit down and we’ll talk of other things until Carlton returns.”
“I’ve have a favor to ask,” Ceana said, her voice halting.
Virginia put her knitting aside and motioned to the adjoining chair.
After seating herself, Ceana stared down at the black silk of her skirt. “I’ve not worn anything but black since Peter died.”
“And you’re tired of it, aren’t you?”
“Is it terrible to want to wear something else?”
“No. I can remember feeling the same. Besides, black is only to let other people know you’re in mourning. Your emotions aren’t tied to the color of the dress you wear. I suspect you’ll always miss Peter in your heart.”
Ceana nodded. “He was such a good man,” she said.
“If you had been the one to die, would he have kept mourning for the rest of his life?”
The question evidently surprised Ceana, because she stared wide-eyed at her.
“I’ve never considered that. I hope he wouldn’t have. I hate to think of him being sad all the time. Besides, my darling girls would need a mother.”
“Don’t they need a father?”
Ceana smiled. “My brothers-in-law would say they have enough uncles to make up for the lack of a father.”
“Do you have enough brothers-in-law to make up for the lack of a husband?”
Ceana’s cheeks grew rosy. “They would say love isn’t important for me. That I should be happy with the memory of love and want nothing more for myself.”
“What do you say?” Virginia asked.
“Can you ever imagine yourself without Macrath and marrying again?”
The thought sent a spike of fear into her heart.
“I don’t even like to think of being without Macrath for a day,” she said. “But I think he would want me to be happy, whatever that entails. Just as I think Peter would want the same for you.”
Ceana nodded, her gaze on the view outside the window.
Virginia stood. “But right now we’ll address your wardrobe. I’ve nothing in mauve, I’m afraid. The shade doesn’t suit me. But I have a lovely pale green dress that would look wonderful with your coloring. For a while, at least, you can put your black aside.”
